Kamehameha Schools will eventually lease the vacant buildings on two three-acre lots in Kakaako, where developers scrapped plans to build at least one luxury condominium tower, the trust’s top executive in its commercial real estate division confirmed to PBN Wednesday.

The state’s largest private landowner is in the midst of concluding matters with The MacNaughton Group and Kobayashi Group, the two developers that planned to build a luxury high-rise tower called Vida 888 at Ala Moana that was shelved because of slow sales. The developers had options to purchase the two parcels.

“We will be looking at leasing opportunities and considering development proposals for those blocks, just as we are with our other remaining blocks in Kakaako,” Walter Thoemmes, managing director of commercial real estate for Kamehameha Schools, told PBN. “At this point, though, our focus is on working with [The MacNaughton Group and Kobayashi Group] on a smooth and orderly transition.”

Kamehameha Schools’ “Our Kakaako” master plan includes nine blocks — four of which are under contract to such developers as Castle & Cooke Hawaii and Stanford Carr Development. Alexander & Baldwin Inc. purchased another parcel, the former CompUSA site, where it is building The Collection condo tower.

Kamehameha Schools, a $11.1 billion trust, is currently in its seventh year of this 15-year plan, which at the start, included seven residential towers that have 2,750 units and 300,000 square feet of commercial space.

Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii Inc. officially started construction Friday on its $50 million, 400 Keawe mixed-use project in the Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako, which includes 95 units and 10,000-square-feet of commercial space on the ground floor of a low-rise tower.

Located on the corner of Keawe and Auahi streets on a 1.5-acre site, the six-story project will include 75 market-priced and 20 reserved housing units in one- to three-bedroom floor plans ranging from 581 square feet to 1,327 square feet.

Prices will range from the high $300,000s to the high $700,000s with maintenance fees ranging from about $285 a month to about $650 a month.

“Castle & Cooke is proud to be able to offer new homeownership opportunities for working professionals who want to live in urban Honolulu,” said Harry Saunders, president and CEO of Castle & Cooke Hawaii, in a statement. “We are honored to be working with Kamehameha Schools on their master planning of ‘Our Kakaako,’ and towards the continued transformation of this community.”

The project will share a community courtyard and pedestrian walkway that will connect to the eventual Honolulu rail transit line. Design Partners of Honolulu is the architect and Honolulu-based Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. Inc. is the general contractor for the project, which is expected to create 50 construction jobs.

The 400 Keawe project, which is expected to be completed in December 2015, is currently accepting pre-sale applications.

This rendering shows a workforce housing complex being developed by Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii and Kamehameha Schools in the Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako.Courtesy Kamehameha Schools

The Hawaii Community Development Authority on Tuesday unanimously approved a joint development by Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii and Kamehameha Schools that will add 183 condominium units on Keawe Street in Honolulu.

Castle & Cooke’s portion of the project will include 95 condos in a 65-feet-high mid-rise building in Kakaako. Seventy-five of the units will be sold at market prices and 20 units will be considered affordable housing.

The company said in a statement that it was pleased by the authority’s decision. This the company’s first condo project in urban Honolulu.

“The project will provide distinctive home ownership opportunities for working families that is located close to downtown Honolulu and the future transit line,” Bruce Barrett, executive vice president at Castle & Cooke, said in a statement.

The project also includes 9,680 square feet of retail space, 145 parking stalls and 1,411 square feet of open space.

This three-dimensional endering shows a workforce housing complex being developed by Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii and Kamehameha Schools in the Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako.

Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii and Kamehameha Schools officially unveiled their respective mixed-use residential projects in Kakaako on Wednesday that will cost $60 million to develop and add a total of 183 rental and for-sale workforce housing units to the area known by some as the “Third City.”

The project, which will be located on the block bounded by Auahi, Keawe and Pohukaina streets, will include 88 rental units developed by Kamehameha Schools and 95 units developed by Castle & Cooke.

The Castle & Cooke portion of the project, which will be located on the makai end of the block at 400 Keawe St., will occupy 1.5-acres and include a 65-foot, six-story mixed use building with 75 market-priced and 20 workforce housing units in one- to three-bedroom floor plans ranging from $400,000s to mid-$700,000s.

The building will include 10,000-square-feet of commercial space.

Meantime, Kamehameha Schools’ project, which it will develop itself, encompasses the remainder 2.8-acres of the block with workforce rentals in a 65-foot building comprised of four floors of residential units and three levels of parking.

The 88 units, which will include 40 studios, 16 one-bedroom units, 16 one-bedroom-plus-den units, eight two-bedroom units and eight three-bedroom units, are expected to be rented to middle-income workers and their families.

Rents for these units are expected to range from $1,100 per month to $1,800 per month, Paul Quintiliani, senior director of Kamehameha Schools’ commercial real estate division, told PBN.

The two-story, 24,000-square-foot building at 458 Keawe St., formerly used by Alu Like, will be used as commercial space.

Kamehameha Schools, which said that Alu Like will be relocated to another location, noted that the project will include 28,600 square feet of open areas that will feature a 14,500-square-foot plaza.

Additionally, the project will include a dog run, bicycle parking and a mid-block pedestrian passage that will run to and from a planned Honolulu rail transit station planned for one block away on Halekauwila Street.

Both projects are to be built at the same time, with construction starting later this year and an expected completion date of 2016.

No construction firm has been selected yet for the developments, although the project is expected to create hundreds of construction jobs.

The project, which was first reported by PBN, is part of Kamehameha Schools’ “Our Kakaako” master plan, which includes nearly 30 acres and nine full-block parcels with 2,750 residential units and commercial space.

Castle & Cooke, which is mostly known for building single-family residential projects such as Mililani and the recently approved 3,500-home Koa Ridge project, both in Central Oahu, would be stepping into somewhat uncharted waters with this residential project.

Bruce Barrett, executive vice president of residential operations for Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii, said that this project is the developer’s first mid-rise development.

Castle & Cooke Inc. will join Hawaii developers such as Alexander & Baldwin Inc. and Stanford Carr Development in developing a residential condominium project in Kakaako as part of landowner Kamehameha Schools’ “Our Kakaako” master plan.

Anthony Ching, executive director of the Hawaii Community Development Authority, the state agency charged with redeveloping Kakaako, confirmed to PBN that Castle & Cooke would build reserved housing units along Keawe Street between Pohukaina and Auahi streets, Diamond Head of Waterfront Towers.

Castle & Cooke, which is best known for building single-family residential projects, such as Mililani and the recently approved 3,500-home Koa Ridge project, both in Central Oahu, would be stepping into somewhat unchartered waters with this condo project.

“Castle & Cooke being interested shouldn’t be surprising,” Ching said. “Everyone needs to produce inventory to sell. You have to put stuff in the pipeline.”

He also pointed out that the demand for housing is at a fever pitch and that more inventory is greatly needed.

“Urban Honolulu is going to be an attractive area,” Ching said. “Many of our local developers are not into luxury, maybe mid-market or low market.”

The parcel currently has several businesses on it, including Volcanic Rock Gym.

Larry Hurst, chairman of the board, told PBN that the planned project isn’t a high-rise, and instead consists of six stories.

“It’s a good thing,” he said. “They’re looking for a variance on their parking structure.”

Kamehameha Schools did not immediately responded to a request for comment by PBN.

But Bruce Barrett, executive vice president of Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii, told PBN that the developer is in discussions with Kamehameha Schools for the Keawe Street project.

“Discussions are ongoing and we expect to be able to make a formal announcement within the next 60 days,” he said in an email statement to PBN.

The Kamehameha Schools’ Kakaako master plan, which includes nearly 30 acres and nine full-block parcels with 2,750 residential units and commercial space, is beginning to take shape.

In September, PBN first reported that MK Development, a joint venture of well-known Hawaii developers the Kobayashi Group and The MacNaughton Group, is purchasing six acres in Kakaako to develop two luxury mixed-use housing projects totaling about 500 units.

HAWAII AMERICANA REALTY

For the past 14 years, Mark G. Howard has practiced his skills as a licensed Realtor in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Las Vegas, Nevada and now Principal Broker & President of 'Hawaii Americana Realty', in Honolulu, Hawaii. He has gained a competitive edge in the real estate market by earning his status as an Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR).